Trustees Set Board Priorities for the Year

At its summer meetings the Board of Trustees identified priorities and strategies for the upcoming church year. Working with Senior Minister, the Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, we have looked at the goals of Developmental Ministry and started to plan which areas we want to focus on first. We have also explored the best initial actions we can take toward accomplishing the Developmental Ministry goals.

As we embrace Rev. Southern’s first year as Senior Minister, the Board is looking forward to helping the Congregation reaffirm and rearticulate its mission and vision. Once we as a community have a consensus on how we see ourselves, we can then start looking strategically at our financial, real estate, and personnel assets, making sure that our use of them aligns with our mission.

We think that this is a great time to consider updating our mission and start strategic planning. There is a lot of good feeling in our community. We have vibrant and strong ministers, healthy finances, and, most importantly, a Congregation with lots of good feeling, trust, and energy.

The other major effort of the Board this year will be the development of lay leaders. We need to help the Congregation identify Members who have skill and interest in different areas of the community. We have assigned liaisons to several committees and will be working with the Nominating Committee on additional steps to identify and empower leaders.

Moderator Galen Workman

A lot of what the Board has done over the summer is talk and plot. That is actually appropriate as it is the Membership, operational Committees, and staff that do things. The Family Faith Committee, the Social Justice Council, the Small Group Ministry, the Committee on Ministry, and other working groups, task forces, and committees are the folks that create programs and activities.

Trustees are planners and enablers. We create the processes that allow the Membership to voice its mission and vision. We help build the organizational structures that will allow our ministers and Members do the real work of the community.

We look forward to an active, powerful year. Please talk to any Trustee if you have questions or suggestions about what is going on in the community.

About Galen Workman

Galen has been a member since 1982. He most recently served on the Board from 2013 - 2018 and as Moderator from 2017-2018. He is also a member of the board of the Hinckley Fund.
He has been Moderator, Assistant Moderator, Secretary, and Treasurer of the Board, on a ministerial search committee, active in social justice activities, and on the Nominating Committee.
Galen is married and spends time away from church showing his dachshunds and squaredancing.